2017-04-09

US Airstrike on Syria

The United States has opted to send a message to the Syrian
government that it will not tolerate chemical weapons attacks.
Washington launched approximately 50-70 precision-guided missiles April 6
at the Shayrat air base. The base, located southeast of Homs city,
houses the two squadrons of Syria's Su-22 ground attack aircraft that
carried out the April 4 attack in northern Syria — an attack that killed
at least 88 civilians.
U.S. President Donald Trump said the targeted strikes were in the
"vital national security interest" of the United States. He gave the
statement at Mar-a-Lago, where he is meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson later said in a statement that
Russia failed in its 2013 promise to dispose of the Syrian government's
chemical weapons, saying that Moscow was either incompetent or
complicit. Syrian state media responded to the U.S. strikes, called them
an act of aggression. ...

...That is, the Trump administration enforced the redline against
the use of chemical weapons that the previous White House ignored.
Further, by citing the possible "spread" of those unconventional arms,
Trump was alluding to the organization that is the likeliest recipient
of Syria's chemical weapons arsenal—Hezbollah, Iran's praetorian guard
in the eastern Mediterranean. ...

The U.S strike against an Assad regime base in northern Syria on April 6, 2017 opened the door to a reorientation of American strategy in the Middle East. President Trump’s action could reset the terms of America’s confrontation of other hostile states, such as North Korea. President Trump may be shifting away from a narrow focus on the Islamic State of Iraq and al Sham (ISIS) as the strategic priority in Syria and toward a new approach. It remains unclear whether he will take additional action against the Assad regime, but his statement after the strike appeared to signal an emerging anti-Assad policy. Responses from major international powers and key regional actors indicate that these parties perceive the strike represents a possible strategic inflection rather than an isolated incident. President Trump has the opportunity to exploit the effects of his limited action to pursue America’s strategic goals.
Regional actors responded as if a wider American reorientation against Assad is possible. Traditional U.S. partners in the region like Saudi Arabia and Jordan supported the strike. Turkey also praised the strike and called for additional U.S. action against the Assad regime. These reactions indicate that the strike created an opportunity for President Trump to repair America’s relationships with traditional partners, which had begun to reorient toward Russia or to act unilaterally in dangerous ways in the absence of American leadership. European states under Russian pressure also supported the strike ...